Floor-scrubbing machine



G. L.' DALY FLOR SCRUBBING MACHINE Filed May 5. 19,21 3 Sheets-Sheet l @iliona/wij Aug. 7, 1923. 1,464.03l

G. 1 DALYl FLOOR SCRUBBING .TVIACHIIIET Filed May 5, 1921 f3 Shee'ts-SheelI 2 Gleim L. fy.

Aug. 7, w23. @Amma G. L. DALY FLOOR SGRUBBING MACHINE llxilllI enemies neg. 7, i923.

einen entre sears 'tenir eine.

GLENN L. `DAIZ', OF DENVER, COLORADO.

i floor scrubbing machines5 my object being.

FIJGOR-SCRUBBING MCHINE.

Application filedA May 3, 1952i. Serial No. 468,458.

zen ot; the United States', residing' at the cityv and county 'of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in` Floor-Scrubbing Machines.; and l declare tne 'following to 'be al full, clear, and exact description of the intention, such as will enable others skilled inl the` art to-Whioh it app ains to make and use the sameo reference b.l ig' had to the accompanying drswings.yandA to the characters ot reference markedl thereon, which, form part or" thisy specification.

ity inyention relates to improvements in to provide a machine ot' this class which will be comparative-ly simple in construction, reliable, durable and ethcient in use.

Generaltli speaking, the machine consists of al structure having four brushes arranged in pairs, one pair being in front and the other pair in the rear, the brushes ol' each pair copper-ating with each other and rotating in-` such a manner thatv their inner portions, or those toward each other are moving upwardly simultaneously1 Wherebfyf the dirty Water or refuse is carried upwardly and brought into coifltact with a. sort ot shield preferably composed of a screen which acts to limit the upward' movement of this liquid refuse and causes it to flow into gutters from which it is carried by suitable oonduits intov av` refuse tanlr located in the lower part ofthe machine.

Provision is made for raisingl and lowering lthe two pairs ofbrushes they become Worn whereby they may be` used aslonp; as the bristles are o'l such, length as to do ethcient work. rllhe `range of the vertical adjustment may be regulated in a commercial machine asV may be desired. The principle only of; Vertical adjustment is intended to be brought `out in this application.

rvlhe power for operating the brushes in the manner stated, as illustrated in the drawing. consists ofY an electric motor which is IllOuuted centrally on the machine and its shaft 'has a gearingconnectionwith yenV tical sha'l't which in turn is connected a multiplicity ofr gears arranged both forwardly and rearwardly from, the center ot the machine and in suc-h a manner as to operate the brushes. for changing the speed of the gears, all ot' which Will hereinafter be set forth in detail.

i Having briefly outlined ny improi'einent i will proceed to describe the in detail, reference being` made to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

Tfn this drawin l is a per proved machine.

2 is yeitical, longitudinal section ot the saine shown on a` larger scale.

Fig. is an elevation oit the machine .ren away and partly .in section vger scale than in Fig'. 2. agmentary Vsectional View line l /l- Fig. 3. looking toward downwardly, er viewed in the direction of the arrows adjacent the section line. i

rlfhe saine reference characters indica-te the same parts in all the Views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a housing which is mounted on four Wheels 6, two being located in the front and two in the roar. These Wheels adapted Vto support the niachinein` roll-ing' Contact with the floor or other surface to be cleaned or scrubbed.

rrl`he sbatts upon which the tufo torn-'ard brushes are mounted.v are designated by the numeral 9 and those upon which the tiro rear brushes are mounted are designated by the numeral l0. The front brushes will be` designated by the numeral l2 and the rear brushes by the numeral 13. The opposite ends of the tiro shafts ot each pair of brushes are jeurnaled in and supported by frame plates. the fir-ame plates of the 'forward shatts beine` designated by the numeral lll and thoseol' the rear shafts bythe `numeral 15. These iraineplates are each provided with aA vertically disposed arm, the, arms of the forward plates being designated lb4 and those on the rear platesV ll'. Cue of the u )Der portion of each of. these arms is Provision is also made f the top of the housing. 'Eachstem 20 is provided with a n'ianipulatinf.r disc or head 22 whereby the worm may .oe rotated for the purpose. of raising and lowering the brushes whenever theyV may'require such manipulation. Spaced inwardly from the plates 14 and 15 on one side of the machine are two bars which are respectively designated by the numerals 23 and 24, the shafts 9 and 10 being journaled in these last named bars as Well as in thefplates 14 and 15. Mountedron the portions of the shafts 9, between the plate 14 andthe bar 23 arey gears 25 and 25a'. Similar gears 26 and27 are mounted Von the correspondinfr portions of the shafts 10. Between the 'gears 25 and 25a and Yco-op,eraf-ing Vvtherewith are two gears 28 and 29, while between the two gears 26 and 27 andV co-operating Ytherewith are two gears 30 and-31. These last named gears are all mounted on'V short shafts, those in front being designated 32'and 33and those in the rear, 34 and-35. One forward plate 14 is pivotally connected at its rear end as shown at 36 with a Vshort bar 37 in f which is mounted. one end of a short shaft 38 whose opposite end is mounted in a similar'ba-r'39 whose forward extremity is pivotally connected as shown at 40 with the rear end of the bar 23. Each of the hars 37 and 39 is also pivotally connected at its rear end with a shaft 41 which is journaled at its outer end in one side of the housing as shown-at 42 and at its inner end in the housing partition 43 as shown at 44. The shaft 41 is provided with a gear 45 which is fast thereon and meshes on one side with a gear 46 mounted en the short shaft 38 and on the other side with ad gear 47 loose on the shaft 48 which also carries a second gear 49 also loose thereon and of larger size than the gear 47.k The gear 47V A Cil also meshes with a gear 50 fast ona central shaft 51 located somewhat above the horizontal plane of Vthe series of shafts heretofore described and best illustrated in Fig.

3. The shaft 51 is journaled at one end'in,

the housing as shown at 52 and near its opposite end in the housing partition 43 as shown 57 meshing with a similar pinion 58 .fast on the shaft of the operating motor 59 which is mounted on the machine in any suitable inanner. As shown inthe drawings the base 60 of the motor enga-ges an inner, horizontally disposed housing part 61.

` The forward end of one of the rear plates 15 is pivotally connected as 'shown Vat 62 with the rear end of a bar 63, while the forward end of the bar 24 is pivotally connected, asshown Yat 64, with a bar 64,' The Vlines in Fig. 5.

forward ends of both ofthe bars 63 and 64 are pivotally'c'onnected asshownat 65 and 66 witha shaft 67 which Vis icurnaledY at its outer extremity in the housing as shown 68 andat its inner Vextremity in the.' housing part`43 as shown at 69.V The twobars 63 and 64 carry short shafts 70 and 71 upon which are respectively mounted gears 7 2 and 73 which mesh with each other. Thegear 72 also meshes with a gear 74 fast on the shaft 67 while the gear 73 meshes with the gear 26 on one of the brush shafts 10. The

gear 74 also meshes with a -gear 7 5 loosefon a shaft 76 which also carries a gear,v 77, also loose thereon, Vsomewhat larger than the gear 75. The: two shafts 41 and 67 near their inner extremities are respectively provided with gears y78and 79 which are adapted to respectively mesh with the gea-rs '49. and 77 when the shafts 48 and-76 are shifted longitudinally for the purpose of vchanging the "speed of the brushes', the

shiftedposition of these two shafts being indicated bydotte'd lines inFig 5. hen the two` shafts 48 andA 7 6 are Ashifted longitudinally for the purpose of changingV the speed fof the brushes, the gears V49 and 77 also bot-h engagea gear 80 fast-on the central shaft 51, as indicated by the dotted From the description already Vgiven it will be understood that when 'the 'motoris l operating, rotary movement will be Yim-y parted to both pairs ofbrushesby virtue of the gearing connections between the shaft 51 and the'gears on the brush shafts as )ust explained, and itfwill also be notedthat the y 17 with the worms 19 without breaking the i gearing connections Vheretofore noted, by

virtue of the pivotal connections betweenV the Y forwaffl plate 14 and the bar 23 and the two hars 37 and'39, and the pivotal connection between the plate 15 and the bar 24 and the two barsr63 and 64, these pivotal Y connections being sufficiently loose to permit the necessary range of adjustment which in n ightsman being unable to indicate itin the drawing. p

The two shafts 48 and7 6 Varev longitudinally movable in their bearing" parts', theirV event is Ycomparatively slight, the r,

incensi with notches 81 which are adapted to engage housing, for securing the saidoshai'ts` in the adjusted. .positionwhen actuated for the purpose oi changing the speed of the brushes.

Above each `pair oi2 brushes is formed a chamber e'iwhich is open justabove the space between each pair of brushes to re-` ceive. the refuse material as it is thrown up'- wardly and away from the brushes by centrit'ugal force. 'The bottom portions 85` of this chamber are inclined downwardly and co-operate with upturned' parts 86 to form gutters ink which the liquid or semi-liquid r refuse material will collect and pass thence into a conduit 8T which discharges into the refuse tank 88.

In order to insurethat the refuse material which is carried upwardly by the brushes shall be deposited in the chambers 83,1 locate a screen device 89 composed of a series of superposed layers of mesh material, each layer being downr-.vardly' inclined from an apex and :the kseveral layers 'being suitablyy spaced buttapering to points at their eX# tremities remote from their apewes. The theory of thisscreen arrangement is that each screen" member willY have a tendency to catch the liquid refuse material and cause the same to triclle downwardly to the bottom portionsof the ehamberand pass thence'into the gutters as heretofore eX- plained. ln the absence of these screen members there would be a tendency for the material thrown upwardlyl by vthe brushes into the chambers 83. to tall directly downwardly between the brushes.

la? order to ilush the chambers 83 in the event that they should become clogged or foul from the retention of the vrefuseV material, l provide pipes 90 which project into the `chambers 83, extending through sealed openings. formed in theV top portions of the housing 'forming the chambers, The-two pipes 90 are united at their upper eXtremities where they merge into a vertical portion. 01 which is open to receive flushing liquid from the lchamber 92`v` this opening',

however, being normally closed by a valvev 03 tast on the lower extremity ot a vertically disposedstem 0a which is threaded into a reinforcement 95 with which the topper" the housing provided. rhe upper' extremity oitliis stem 941 is provided with a hand piece 06' to facilitate the manipulation ofthe stem for opening and closing the upper vertical portion 91 oit each i'lushing device. As illus' tra-ted in the drawing, there are two oi these ilushingdevices 'for each chamber ln order to supply the brushes with Vthe necessary soapy liquid or other cleaning` compound when the machine is in use, provide a relatively large tube 9i' which is centrallv supported i the housing. its upper ei:

itending above the same and plugl 98 having a threaded opening to receivethe threaded part of a spindle 99 whose lower portion carriesva piston 100 which lits closely within the tube. The lower portion ot this tube is provided with openings 101 which communicate with the liquid in the receptacleSQ. The piston 100, when in its lowermost position, closes the openings 101', while. when thepiston is raised as shown by dotted lines at the right of Fig. 2, the liquid from the receptacle 92 enters the lower portion of the vtube freely and passes downwardly through the open end thereoi1V into a small chamber 102 having openings 103 in the side' walls thereof, said openings being located somewhatabove the bottom of the chamber 102,011 opposite sides of the chamber 102 are compartments 104 which are adapted tov receive the soapy water or other cleaning compound which overflows through openings 105 near the top of the side walls of said compartments, this clean* ing compound passing thence into tributing memberslOG which are open 'at the bottom whereby thev cleaning compound is delivered tor the brushes on the` outer o-r downwardly moving portions of the latter, thus. making it effective for cleaning purposes.

ln order to catch any grease or oil ythat might drop from the series ofgears located beyond the ends of the brushes, a pan 10T `is slidabl mounted in they housino below these gears as best illustrated in Fig. 1. This pan may extend the entire length of the machine and may be removable from either end thereof or, it desired, two pans might be provided, one removable from each end of the machine.

At the end of each brush and extending downwardly to the surface to be cleaned, is an apron 108 preferably composed of rubber or other suitable or similar material. These aprons are vmounted on the shafts oi the brushes and' are vertically adjustable therewith.

rlhe machine is provided with a handle `109 which is forked at its forward extremrie and operation of my machine will be readily understood. As soon as the motor is started,

power is transmitted through themedium orn delivered" to the gutters and discharged through the medium of thejconduits 87 tothe refuse tankv 88, lthe cleaning compoundbeing in the meantime fed to the brushes 'from the tank orreceptacle 92 as heretofore eX- plained. 1 Y

After a suitable cleaning period, the duration of which experienceiwill determine, the cleaning liquid shouldbe cut ofi' from the brushes and the chambers 83 .should be flooded for the purpose of removing any refuse material which 'may have `lodged therein with a tendency to clog. Y Y

Attention is called to the fact that by virtue of the speed changing mechanism heretofore described, it vwill be practicable to rotate the two pairs of brushes at different speeds. This maybe required in orderto do Y the most ellicient work. Further, it will be understood' thatY t-he'cleaning Yliquid or compound may be delivered to one set of brushes while the other set are free from liquid,

vas may be required.

Again, it will beA readily understood that the'machine when inl commercial use will be so constructed that the brushes mayY berea'dily removed and replaced as circumstances may require.

I cla-im: Y

l. A portable machine'for cleaning floors and the like, comprising a framework adapted'to be moved over the surface to be cleaned and havingr mounted thereon a pair of cooperating rotary brushes, means for operating the same to cause the lower portions of theindividual brushes toA move toward each other, the two brushes being mounted inclose proximity to each other, a chamber arranged above the brushes and open at` the bottom to receive the refuse material car- .ried upwardlyby the brushes, means for means for operating `the same to cause the lower portions of the individual brushes to move-toward each other, the two brushes being mounted substantially in tangential Y relation, a chamber arranged above ythe brushes and open' at the bottom to receive therefuse material carried upwardly by the brushes, a receptacle for cleaning-compound carried bythemachine, means for supplying said compound to the brushes, comprising a chamber, aV conduit in'communication with said receptacle`v the said chamber being also communication with said conduit and" having; anY outlet' for. supplying the cleaning materialxto the brushes, and means jmeans for catching the refuse materialV and directing it to the bottom of the chamber on A opposite sidesof thev opening. Y

4. A portable machine for cleaning doors and the like, comprising a framework adapted to bemove'd over the surface to v`be cleaned and havingmounted' thereona pair of co-operating rotary brushes,`,means for operating theA same to causethe lower portions of the individuall brushes to Vmove toward each other, the two brushes being mounted in close proximity to'each other, a

chamber arranged abovelthe 'brushes and Y openat the bottom to receive the refuse material carried upwardly by the brushes, and means for catching the refuse material and. directing it to the bottom ofthe chamber on opposite sides of the opening,` comprising a number-of superposed meshimembers having parts downwardly inclined from apexes.

5. A portable machine for cleaning floors and the like, comprising a framework adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned and having mounted Vthereon a pair of co-operating rotary brushes, means for operating the same to cause the lower portions of the individual brushes to move toward yeach other, the two brushes Ybeing mounted in close Aproximity to each other, a chamber arranged above-.the brushes and open at the bottom to. receive the refuse material carried upwardly by the brushes, and means for supplying the same with flushing liquid. Y

6. A portable machine lfor cleaning floors and the like, Comprising a framework y adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned and havingV mounted thereon two pairs of rotary brushes, the individual brushes Vof each pair being-arranged to cooperate and mounted substantiallvin tangential relation, a motor carried by the frame, and an operative. connection between the motor andthe brushes, said connection arranged to cause ,the lower portions of the individual brushesof each pair to movetoward each other, a refuse-receiving'chamber having an opening,V above' each pair, 0iV

brushes, means'for catching said refuseV ma- Y ferial and. delivering it tosad' chamber on opposite sides of the opening, means for draining saidehamber, and a refuse receiving tank in communication with the drainage means.

7. A portable machine for cleaning floors and the like, ycomprising a framework adapted to be moved over the surface to be cleaned and having mounted thereon a pair of (3o-operating rotary brushes, means for operating 'the same to cause the lower pon tions of the individual brushes to move toward eaeh other, the two brushes being mounted substantially in tangential relation, and means for varying the speed of the brushes as circumstances may require.

ln testimony whereof l aix my signature.

GLENN L. DALY. 

